Ivorian, Nigerien Governments, African Union and Economic Community of West African States Delegations Conduct Study Tour to Tanzania

Ivorian, Nigerien Governments, African Union and Economic Community of West African States Delegations Conduct Study Tour to Tanzania

United Republic of Tanzania – A team of Ivorian and Nigerien Government delegations accompanied by IOM colleagues in the two countries carried out a study tour in the United Republic of Tanzania from 4 to 10 November 2017 under the framework of the project "Reinforcing Interagency Cooperation for Border Security”, funded by the Government of Japan.

In the spirit of cooperation between Border Management Agencies in the two countries, Regional Economic Communities (REC) and the African Union (AU), the delegation was composed of 17 members from different institutions from the two countries including the Directorate of Surveillance of the Territory, the Directorate of Customs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Identification Office, the General Directorate of Territorial Administration, and the General Directorate of National Police, as well as representatives from the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

One of the major objectives of the study tour was to see the practical aspects of the implementation of the concept of “Integrated Border Management” (IBM), with the ultimate goal of replicating the lessons learned back home in terms of enhancing inter-state cooperation to better secure their borders while facilitating cross-border trade and combating smuggling and trafficking of arms, drugs and humans.

To achieve this, a field trip to the One Stop Border Post (OSBP) of Holili–Taveta, the Land Border Point between Tanzania and Kenya, was organized for the visiting team. Additionally, meetings with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the East African Cooperation, Immigration Service Department, and Tanzania Revenue Authority were organized to discuss and exchange good practices in the management of flows of goods and persons, in order to draw comparative lessons on Integrated Border Management in its intergovernmental dimension within the two regional economic communities in the continent, i.e., ECOWAS and the East African Community (EAC).

Marcellino Ramkishun, Senior Migration Specialist at the African Capacity Building Centre (ACBC), stated that “While migration on the African continent is evolving, the integrity and security of migrants has to be the main concern of the African States.”

“On top of its original objective, this study tour will positively contribute to building relations between the three countries, i.e., Cote d’Ivoire, Niger and Tanzania,” said the IOM Chief of Mission in Tanzania, Dr. Qasim Sufi, while addressing the visiting team at the IOM Head Office in Dar es Salaam. Moreover, "the support provided by the ACBC to the organization of this study tour is a clear indicator of the commitment of the United Nations Migration Agency, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in the provision of technical support to African Member States to strengthen their capacity in managing migration with the aim of meeting multiple challenges related to the phenomenon of irregular migration.”

A member of the Nigerien delegation, Colonel Hamidou Issa Djibrilla, highlighted the richness in dialogue with the Tanzanian authorities and ACBC. “Indeed, this exchange helped the delegation participants to take ownership of the concept of integrated border management and its concrete applications such as the OSBP,” he added. “Furthermore, the lessons learned will enable us to consolidate the implementation of our national policies on border management,” he concluded.